Hong wows with awareness level

People may think that Arunachal in the northeast is far away from the mainstream and developmental path of the country, but when it comes to sanitation this state in the forefront. Arunachal means Mountain of rising sun. Seeing the success of this state in the field of cleanliness, the significance of its name becomes clear. According to the state government records, Arunachal Pradesh has fulfilled 87.12 percent sanitation criteria. With this success, the state has come to the 7th place in the field of sanitation at national level. State Government claims that it will achieve the goal of the Swachh Bharat Mission much long before October 2, 2019. In order to move towards cleanliness, people of Arunachal Pradesh with their committed government along with Sulabh organisation has a huge contribution.
Hong is a may seem just an ordinary village of Arunachal. Today this village has become a paradigm of cleanliness in Arunachal with the help of Sulabh. Hong village is about 600 kilometers away from Guwahati. We arrived there from Guwahati via Navagam, Tezpur, Lakhimpur, Itanagar and passing through the picturesque hills and valleys. The weather here was very pleasant. Residents of the village are very gentle, simple and full of hospitality. The grand heritage and colourful festivals of art and handicrafts here show their ancient belief in the immense power of nature.
Hong village is situated 5,754 feet above sea level. Located at such a height, this village is surrounded by mountains full of pine trees. Bamboo grows abundantly here. On March 27, 2018, the inauguration ceremony of the Sulabh International Model Sanitation Cum Renewable System at Kasturba Gandhi Ashram in Hong was concluded. The foundation stone of the Sulabh toilets was done by MLA Tage Taki and Deputy Commissioner Kemo Lollen. On this occasion, Sulabh International Social Service Organisation, Punyo Pava, Zila Parishad member, Koj Rinya, IFS and Robin Hibu, IFS, President of Helping Hands (NGO), along with the author, were also present on the occasion. The programme was conducted by Coz Rinio.
On this occasion, Robin Hibu gave information about Helping Hands (NGO) and thanked the Sulabh founder Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak that he has taken forward the Sulabh Sanitation movement in country and abroad with full dedication. Sulabh has constructed 15 lakh domestic toilets all over India, which are in continuous use. Sulabh toilets are easy to construct. There are two pits in it. If one crater fills, then we use the second. Human excreta are converted to compost in 2 years. It helps to keep the atmosphere and environment clean. Sulabh has built 8500 public community toilets in India and abroad. He also informed that Sulabh has taken away the scavengers women and men from this inhuman act and connected to the mainstream society. Especially, two cities of Rajasthan have been liberated from the practice of manual scavenging Alwar and Tonk.
Deputy Commissioner Mr. Kemo Lollen informed about the many different cleanliness programmes organised in the district. MLA Tage Taki welcomed this initiative of Sulabh and informed about cleanliness programmes going on in his area. He lauded the work of Robin Hihu through the Helping Hands and said that they help the North-East students in every way possible in Delhi.

We will go further in the direction of cleanliness
On this occasion, a recorded message of Sulabh founder Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak was also played. Here is the edited portion of this message:
I am extremely happy to address the respected audience of village Hong. I congratulate Robin Hibu, talented IPS officer of Arunachal Pradesh, who along with the work done to improve the condition of their village, district and state has also taken several steps to solve the problems of girls and boys of the North-East living in NCR and other region. He is now taking care of all the safety related aspects with full commitment and dedication of the Parliament House in New Delhi.
I was willing to come myself in the inauguration ceremony but could not come for some unavoidable reasons. I hope that when the toilet premises will be inaugurated between the Kasturba Gandhi Ashram and the community hall, then I will come there on that occasion. I assure you for the high quality of the work done here, for which Sulabh International is known everywhere. As some of you will know that I am a follower of Mahatma Gandhi and it is a matter of honor for me to take care of this ashram. Sulabh International has so far built 1.5 million domestic toilets, 8,500 community toilets, 200 biogas digesters effluent and 21 thousand school-toilets have been constructed in collaboration with various government departments, public undertakings and private companies. I hope that a small effort initiated jointly by the Sulabh International Social Service Organization and Helping Hands will go a long way, and a lot more people will join to improve the situation of this important region of our country.